US online lender OnDeck had a tough Q4 2016, but it acknowledged its problems and introduced several measures to get itself back on track, including a "cost rationalization" plan that called for tighter credit management and job cuts.

Its Q1 2017 results, published on Monday, indicate that these measures are paying off. Net losses, at $11.6 million, narrowed by an impressive 68% from $36.5 million in Q4, partly down to provisions for loan losses decreasing by 17% from $55.7 million to $46.2 million. Moreover, although the company previously said it planned to become profitable by 2018, it has now brought this forward to the second half of 2017, suggesting that its performance is exceeding its earlier expectations.

Here is how OnDeck will go about reaching profitability:

Further headcount reduction. In its Q4 2016 results, OnDeck expected staff reductions of 11%. This has now been revised to 27%, indicating that the company has seen benefits from the strategy, and is now intensifying it to help further reduce costs.

Increased credit performance improvement. CEO Noah Breslow said a top priority for the company would be to continue improving its credit scoring methodology, likely in order to reduce defaults, and thereby costs. He admitted this would bring down loan originations in the short term, presumably because it will narrow OnDeck's pool to more creditworthy applicants. This suggests that, like many other marketplace lenders, OnDeck was originally overconfident in its scoring methodology, and is now doubling down on making amendments to this core part of its business.

Moving away from a marketplace lending model. OnDeck said it would continue reducing the volume of loans sold through its marketplace, to less than 5% for the rest of 2017, in an effort to boost long-term "financial performance." OnDeck's decision to transition away from a marketplace model and rely more on its own balance sheet likely reflects its desire to be less impacted by the flux of supply and demand.

OnDeck's turnaround strategy is a good indicator of where the marketplace lending industry is headed. Following the 2008 financial crisis, marketplace lenders emerged as some of the most successful fintech players. However, subsequently, factors including a series of scandals within the sector, and higher-than-expected default rates, took the wind out of their sails. As a consequence, we have seen several players not just retrenching, but reevaluating their models, with varying degrees of success. One thing we can expect to see more of is lenders that originally offered a hybrid model, like OnDeck, moving away from marketplace lending. Peers like Lending Club and Prosper, which operate an exclusively marketplace model, may consider making a similar shift, but this would require a more fundamental overhaul of their operations, and could be prohibitively complex. As such, it seems possible that players who never relied exclusively on marketplace lending will be those that come out on top.

We've entered the most profound era of change for financial services companies since the 1970s brought us index mutual funds, discount brokers and ATMs.

No firm is immune from the coming disruption and every company must have a strategy to harness the powerful advantages of the new fintech revolution.

The battle already underway will create surprising winners and stunned losers among some of the most powerful names in the financial world: The most contentious conflicts (and partnerships) will be between startups that are completely reengineering decades-old practices, traditional power players who are furiously trying to adapt with their own innovations, and total disruption of established technology & processes:

Traditional Retail Banks vs. Online-Only Banks: Traditional retail banks provide a valuable service, but online-only banks can offer many of the same services with higher rates and lower fees

Traditional Lenders vs. Peer-to-Peer Marketplaces: P2P lending marketplaces are growing much faster than traditional lenders—only time will tell if the banks strategy of creating their own small loan networks will be successful

Traditional Asset Managers vs. Robo Advisors: Robo advisors like Betterment offer lower fees, lower minimums and solid returns to investors, but the much larger traditional asset managers are creating their own robo-products while providing the kind of handholding that high net worth clients are willing to pay handsomely for.

As you can see, this very fluid environment is creating winners and losers before your eyes…and it's also creating the potential for new cost savings or growth opportunities for both you and your company.

After months of researching and reporting this important trend, Sarah Kocianski, senior research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has put together an essential report on the fintech ecosystem that explains the new landscape, identifies the ripest areas for disruption, and highlights the some of the most exciting new companies. These new players have the potential to become the next Visa, Paypal or Charles Schwab because they have the potential to transform important areas of the financial services industry like:

Retail banking

Lending and Financing

Payments and Transfers

Wealth and Asset Management

Markets and Exchanges

Insurance

Blockchain Transactions

If you work in any of these sectors, it's important for you to understand how the fintech revolution will change your business and possibly even your career. And if you're employed in any part of the digital economy, you'll want to know how you can exploit these new technologies to make your employer more efficient, flexible and profitable.

Among the big picture insights you'll get from The Fintech Ecosystem Report: Measuring the effects of technology on the entire financial services industry:

Fintech investment continues to grow. After landing at $19 billion in total in 2015, global fintech funding had already reached $15 billion by mid-August 2016.

The areas of fintech attracting media and investor attention are changing. Insurtech, robo advisors, and digital-only banks are only a few of the segments making waves. B2B fintechs are also playing an increasingly prominent role in the ecosystem.

It's not all good news for fintechs. Major hurdles, including customer acquisition and profitability, remain. As a result, many are becoming more willing to enter partnerships and adjust their business models.

Incumbents are enacting strategies to ensure they remain relevant. Many financial firms have woken up to the threat posed by fintechs and are implementing innovation strategies to stave off disruption. The majority of these strategies involve some interaction with fintech firms.

The relationship between incumbents and fintechs continues to evolve. Fintechs are no longer viewed exclusively as a threat, nor can they be ignored. They are increasingly viewed as partners, but that narrative alone is too simple — in reality, a more nuanced connection is taking hold.

This exclusive report also:

Assesses the state of the fintech industry.

Gives details on the drivers of its growth.

Explains which areas of fintech are gaining traction.

Outlines the range of current and potential models for fintech and incumbent interaction.

The Fintech Ecosystem Report: Measuring the effects of technology on the entire financial services industry is how you get the full story on the fintech revolution.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide to the fintech revolution, choose one of these options:

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The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you've given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the fast-moving world of financial technology.